Thursday, December 13, 2007

How It Began

Well, it seems like it's time to let our readers (both of them, and we thank you) know a little about us.

We recently bought this little "farmette" in February of '07. Prior to that, we lived in a tiny town about 30 miles southwest of where we are now. Being that we were "in town", we boarded our horses over the years. Like anyone who boards their horses, you always think about how nice it would be to have them at home. Sure, it'll be more work, but the outcome of the hard work will be worth it. So the search for our own little patch of land began.

We looked for properties for about 6-8 months, not too seriously, just waiting for the right one to surface. We literally stumbled onto this place. Our realtor (what a joke he was, but that's a different story) was showing us a property near here, and Sara noticed the for sale sign for this place as we drove by. I checked the web when we got home, and the price was right, the description was right, but there were no pictures yet. Monday morning rolled around and I checked the web again, and the pics were up. I called the realtor immediately and said that we need to see this place now. We bought the place that night.

Oh, I should add that we sold our house in record time as well. Kinda surprised it went as fast as it did. My mom asks if we miss the old house - after all, we did a lot of work to it over the years. And you know what......I don't. I'm so wrapped up in the new homestead and I'm so excited about what the future holds for us that I don't look back. We have done a couple of drive-by's past the old place, and it truly feels like it's someone else's place. Nostalgia is a funny thing.

We have a lot of work to do yet before our dream is complete, but we're on the right track to getting it done. One of the big projects this year was to get the property fenced in. The previous owners mowed over four acres of lawn - it was beautiful, but four acres of lawn? Geez.


There's something about putting in a good fence that gives one a sense of permanency. And my fences are built to last. A lot of planning goes in before one just pokes holes in the ground, and a lot of thought has to be given to what changes may come in the future that may effect the location of the fences. So, I make sketches. Lots of 'em. Call me thorough or crazy; either may apply.

The property is fenced now, and it looks damned nice if I say so myself. I have a new saying - "A good fence is representative of a good farm". It's true.
An opportunity to purchase some adjoining property came into light, and we leapt at the chance. This parcel housed the old dairy barn foundation and silo that was once part of the original homestead. We bought the land this fall and razed the old foundation and sadly knocked over the silo and buried everything just recently.

Just another step in pursuing the dream. We can start to see how the new barn and riding ring will be layed out.

There is a big "to-do" list ahead of us, but we tackle it one project at a time. Now that winter has set in, most outside projects are on hold until spring thaw. I'll use this time to make more sketches and plan for things to come.

1 comment:

Jen said...

DAMN insurance companies making you take the perty silo down! How is the barn construction coming along?